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THE

FROM THE ORIGINAL DESIGNS OF

HANS HOLBEIN.

ILLUSTRATED WITH THIRTY-THREE PLATES,

ENGRAVED BY

W. HOLLAR.

WITK

DESCRIPTIONS IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH.

What's yet in this
Th*t bears the name of life! yet in this life
Lie hid more thoMaud deaths; yet death we fear,
That makes these odds all even.

SHAKSPEAKE.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. COXHEAD, HOLYWELL.STREET, STRAND.

1816.

[Price 25*. in Boarit.]

London : Printed by B. M'MUUn, 1
Bow Street, C«vcnt Garden. J

HANS HOLBEIN rAIXTEll

THE

LIFE OF HOLBEIN

John IIOLBEIN, better known by his
German name Hans Holbein, a most excel-
lent painter, was born, according to some
accounts, at Basil in Switzerland in 1498;
but Charles Patin places his birth three years
earlier, supposing it very improbable that he
could have arrived at such maturity of judg-
ment and perfection in painting, as he shewed
in 1514 and 1516, if he had been born so late
as 1498. He learned the rudiments of his
art from his father John Holbein, who was a
painter, and had removed from Augsburg to
Basil; but the superiority of his genius soon
raised him above his master. He painted our
Saviour's Passion in the town-house of Basil ;

B

^ LIFE OF HOLBEIN.

and in the fish-market of the same town, a
Dance of peasants, and Death's dance. These
pieces were exceedingly striking to the curious ;
and Erasmus was so affected with them, that
he requested of him to draw his picture, and
was ever after his friend. Holbein, in the
mean time, though a great genius and fine
artist, had no elegance or delicacy of man-
ners, but was given to wine and revelling
company ; for which he met with the follow-
ing gentle rebuke from Erasmus. When
Erasmus wrote his " Moriae Encomium," or
" Panegyric upon Folly," he sent a copy of
it to Hans Holbein, who was so pleased with
the several descriptions of folly there given,
that he designed them all in the margin ; and
where he had not room to draw the whole
figures, pasted a piece of paper to the leaves.
lie then returned the book to Erasmus, who
seeing that he had represented an amorous
fool by the^ figure of a fat Dutch lover, hug-
ging his bottle and his lass, wrote under it,
'* Hans Holbein," and so sent it back to the

LIFE OF HOLBEIN. 3

painter. Holbein, however, to be revenged
of him, drew the picture of Erasmus for a
musty book-worm, who busied himself in
scraping together old MSS. and antiquities,
and wrote under it " xldagia."

It is said, that an English nobleman, who
accidentally saw some of Holbein's perform-
ances at Basil, invited him to come to Eng-
land, where his art was in high esteem ; and
promised him great encouragement from
Henry VIII.; but Holbein was too much
engaged in his pleasures to listen to so advan-
tageous a proposal, A few years after, how-
ever, moved by the necessities to which an
increased family and his own mismanagement
had reduced him, as well as by the persuasions
of his friend Erasmus, who told him how im-
proper a country his own was to do justice
to his merit, he consented to go to England :
and he consented the more readily, as he did
not live on the happiest terms with his wife,
who is said to have been a termagant. In his
journey thither he stayed some days at Stras-
B 2

4 LIFE OF IIOLBFIN.

burg, and applying to a very great master in
that city for work, was taken in, and ordered
to give a specimen of his skill. Holbein
finished a piece with great care, and painted
a fly upon the most conspicuous part of it ;
after which he withdrew privily in the absence
of his master, and pursued his journey. AVhen
the painter returned home, he was astonished
at the beauty and elegance of the drawing ;
and especially at the fly, which, upon his
first casting his eye upon it, he so far took for
a real fly, that he endeavoured to remove it
with his hand. He sent all over the city for
his journeyman, who was now missing ; but
after many enquiries, found that he had been
thus deceived by the famous Holbein. This
story has been somewhat differently told, as
if the painting was a portrait for one of his
patrons at Basil, but the effect was the same,
for before he was discovered, he had made
his escape.

After almost begging his way to England,
as Patin tells us, he found an easy admit-

LIFE OF HOLBEIN. 5

tance to the lord-chancellor, Sir Thomas
More, having brought with him Erasmus's
picture^ and letters recommendatory from
him to that great man. Sir Thomas received
him with all the joy imaginable, and kept
him in his house between two and three years;
during which time he drew Sir Thomas's pic-
ture, and those of many of his friends and re-
lations. One day Holbein happening to men-
tion the nobleman who had some years ago
invited him to England, Sir Thomas was very
solicitous to know who he was. Holbein re-
plied, that he had indeed forgot his title, but
remembered his face so well, that he thought
he could draw his likeness ; and this he did so
very strongly, that the nobleman, it is said,
was immediately known by it. This noble-
man, some think, was the Earl of Arundel,
others the Earl of Surrey. The Chancellor,
having now sufficiently enriched his apart-
ments with Holbein's productions, adopted
the follo\ving method to introduce him to
Henry VIII. He invited the king to an en-

6 LIFE OF IIOLHELN.

tertiiinment, and hung up all Holbein's pieces,
disposed in the best order, and in the best
hght, in the great hall of his house. 'I'he
king, upon his first entrance, was so charmed
with the sight of them, that he asked, '' Whe-
ther such an artist were now alive, and to be
had for money ?" on which Sir Thomas pre-r
sented Holbein to the king, who immediately
took him into his service, with a salary of 200
florins, and brought him into great esteem
with the nobility of the kingdom. The king
from time to time manifested the great value
he had for him; and upon the death of Queen
Jane, his third wife, sent him into Flanders,
to draw the picture of the Duchess Dowager of
Milan, widow of Francis Sforza, whom the
Emperor CharlesV. had recommended to him
for a fourth wife ; but the king's defection
from the See of Rome happening about that
time, he rather chose to match with a protes-
tant princess. Cromwell, then his prime mi-
nister (for Sir Thomas More had been re-
moved, and beheaded), proposed Anne of

LIFE OF HOLBEIN. 7

Cleves to him ; but the king was not inclined
to the match, till her picture, which Holbein
had also drawn, was presented to him. There,
as Lord Herbert of Cherbury says, she was
represented so very charming, that the king
immediately resolved to marry her; and thus
Holbein was unwittingly the cause of the
ruin of his patron Cromwell, whom the king
never forgave for introducing him to Anne of
Cieves.

In England Holbein drew a vast number
of admirable portraits ; among others, those
of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. on the wall
of the palace at Whitehall, which perished
when it was burnt, though some endeavours
■were made to remove that part of the wall
on which the pictures were drawn. There
happened, however, an affair in England,
which might have been fatal to Holbein, if
the king had not protected him. On the re-
port of his character, a nobleman of the first
quality wanted one day to see him, when he
was drawing a figure after the life. Holbein,

8 LIFE OF HOLBEIN.

ill answer, begged his lordship to defer the
honour of his visit to another day ; which the
nobleman taking for an affront, came, broke
open the door, and very rudely Ment up
stairs. Holbein, hearing a noise, left his
chamber ; and meeting the lord at his door,
fell into a violent passion, and pushed him
backwards from the top of the stairs to the
bottom. Considering, however, immediately
what he had done, he escaped from the tu-
mult he had raised, and made the best of his
way to the king. The nobleman, much hurt,
though not so much as he pretended, was
there soon after him ; and upon opening his
grievance, the king ordered Holbein to ask
pardon for his offence. But this only irri-
tated the nobleman the more, who would not
be satisfied with less than his life ; upon
which the king sternly replied, " My lord,
you have not now to do with Holbein, but
with me ; whatever punishment you may con-
trive by way of revenge against him, shall as-
suredly be inflicted upon yourself: remember,

LIFR OF HOLBEIN. 9

pray, my lord, that I can, whenever I please,
make seven lords of seven ploughmen, but
I cannot make one Holbein even of seven
lords."

We cannot undertake to give a list of Hol-
bein's works, but this may be seen in Wal-
pole's Anecdotes. Soon after the accession
of the late king, a noble collection of his
drawings was found in a bureau at Kensing-
ton, amounting to eighty-nine. These, which
are of exquisite merit, have been admirably
imitated in engraving, in a work published
lately by John Chambprlaine, F. S. A. cer-
tainly one of the most splendid books, and
most interesting collections of portraits ever
executed. Holbein painted equally well in
oil, water-colours, and distemper, in large
and in miniature : but he had never practised
the art of painting in miniature, till he re-
sided in England, and learned it from Lucas
Cornelii; though he afterwards carried it to
its highest perfection. His paintings of that
kind have all the force of oil-colours, and are

10 LIFE OF HOLBEIN.

finished with the utmost delicacy. In general,
he painted on a green ground, but in his
small pictures frequently he painted on a blue.
The invention of Holbein was surprisingly
fruitful, and often poetical ; his execution was
remarkably quick, and his application indefati-
gable. His pencil was exceedingly delicate ;
his colouring had a wonderful degree of force ;
he finished his pictures with exquisite neat-
ness ; and his carnations were life itself His
genuine works are always distinguishable by
the true, round, lively imitation of flesh, vi-
sible in all his portraits, and also by the
amazing delicacy of his finishing.

It is observed by most authors, that Hol-
bein always painted with his left hand ; though
Walpole objects against that tradition, (what
he considers as a proof), that in a portrait of
Holbein painted by himself, which was in the
Arundelian collection, he is represented hold-
ing the pencil in the right hand. But that
evidence cannot be sufficient to set aside so
general a testimony of the most authentic

LIFE OF HOLBEIN. 11

writers on this subject: because, although
habit and practice might enable him to
handle the pencil fimiiliarly with his left hand,
yet, as it is so unusual, it must have had but
an unseemly and awkward appearance in a
picture ; which probably might have been his
real inducement for representing himself with-
out such a particularity. Besides, the writer
of Holbein's life, at the end of the treatise
by De Piles, mentions a print by Hollar,
still extant, which describes Holbein draw-
ing with his left hand. Nor is it so extra-
ordinary or incredible a circumstance ; for
other artists are remarked for the very
same habit; particularly Mozzo of Antwerp,
who worked with the left; and Amico As-
pertino, as well as Ludovico Cangiagio, who
worked equally well with both hands. This
great artist died of the plague at London
in 1554; some think at his lodgings in
AVhitehall, where he had lived from the time
that the king became his patron, but Ver-
tue rather thought at the Duke of Nor-

12 LIFE OF HOLBEIN.

folk's house, in the priory of Christ church
near Aldgate, then called Duke's-place.
Strype says that he was buried in St. Cathe-
rine Cree church ; but this seems doubtful.

THE

DANCE OF DEATH,

The celebrity of a subject which has been
distinguished by the labours of such artists as
Holbein and Hollar, seems necessarily to de-
mand some investigation of its origin*.

In the dark ages of monkish bigotry and su-
perstitioUj the deluded people, terrified into a
belief that the fear of death was acceptable to
the great Author of their existence, had placed

* It would be a piece of injustice not to mention, that this
has already been done in a very able manner, by a respected
friend of the compiler of the present essay, in a little work,
intitled " Emblems of Mortality," ornamented with copies in
wood, of the Dance of Death, by J. Bewick, the brother of
the admirable artist who executed the cuts to a history of
quadrupeds, lately published. The work was printed for
T. Hoduson, Clerkcnwell, in 1789, 12mo. The editor of it
will immediately perceive that no rivality is here intended ;
that in the pursuit of a subject of this nature many of the
same authorities must have naturally presented themselves,
and in order to connect it properly, must again be of course
adopted. Independently of these, the rest of this slight per-
formance is only designed as supplemental.

14 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

one of their principal gratifications in contem-
plating it amidst ideas the most horrid and dis-
gusting: hence the frequent descriptions of
mortalit_y in all its shapes amongst tlieir writers,
and the representations of this kind, in their
books of religious offices, and the paintings and
sculptures of their ecclesiastic buildings. They
had altogether lost sight of the consolatory doc-
trines of the Gospel, which regard death in no
terrific point of view whatever ; a discovery re-
served for the discernment of modern and en-
lightened Christians, who contemplate scenes
which excited gloom and melancholy in the
minds of their forefathers^ with the gratifica-
tion of philosophic curiosity. Some exceptions^
however, to this remark are not wanting, for
we may yet trace the imbecility of former ages
in the decorations of many of our monuments^
tricked out in all the silly ornaments of deaths'
heads and marrow-bones.

The most favourite subject of the kind^ how-
ever, was what is usually denominated the
Dance of Death, or a representation of Death in
the act of leading all ranks and conditions of men
to the grave; with gesticulations not a little bor-
dering upon the grotesque, though probably
without any view to provoke the mirth of the
spectator in those times. One of the most an-
cient still existing, is that at Basil in Switzer-

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 15

land, in the church-yard formerly belonging to
the coiivent of Dominicans, Nvhich is said to
have been painted at the instance of the fathers
and prelates assisting at the grand council at
Basil, in 1431, in memory of a plague which
happened soon afterwards, and during its con-
tinuance. The name of the painter is unknown,
and will probably ever remain so, for no depend-
ence can be had upon vague conjectures of those
who, w ithont any authority, or even the smallest
probability, have attempted to ascertain it. To
refute, or even to mention the blunders which
have been committed by most of the travellers
who have described the town of Basil, when
they discuss this subject^ would fill a volume :
it will be sufficient to notice an assertion of
Keysler, that the painting was executed by
Hans Bok, a celebrated painter of this place,
who, however, from the testimony of Scheutzer^,
in his Itinerary, was not born till 1584. From
some inscriptions on the spot it appears to have
been retouched, or perhaps renewed, in 1566
and 1616; the first time probably by Hans
Klauber, whose name occurs in the lines ad-
dressed by Death to the Painter.

It has been frequently supposed that the Basil
painting was the first of the kind; but this is
extremely doubtful, from the knowledge we have
of many others of apparently equal antiquity.

16 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

Manjofthebridges ill Germany and Switzerland
were ornamented in this manner^ a specimen of
which is still to be seen at Lucerne; and it is
probable that almost every church of eminence
was decorated with a Dance of Death. In the
cloisters of St. Innocent's church at Paris, in
those belonging to the old cathedral of St. Paul
at London*^ and in St. Mary's church at Berlin,
these paintings were to be seen. At Rlingcn-
thal, a convent in the Little Basil, are the re-
mains of a Dance of Death, differently designed
from that at the Dominicans, and thought to be
more ancient. The figures remaining till very
lately in Hungerford's chapel, in the cathedral
at Salisbury, and known by the title of Death
and the Young Man, were undoubtedly part of
a Death's Dance, as might be further insisted
on from the fragment of another compartment
which was close to them. In the church at
Hexham, in Northumberland, are the remains
of a Death's Dance; and at Feschamps, in Nor-
mandy, it is carved in stone, between the pil-
lars of a church; the figures are about eighteen
inches high. Even fragments of painted glass,

* On the walls of a cloister on the north side of St. Paul's,
called Pardon-church-haugh, was painted the Machabre, or
Dance of Death, a conimOD subject on the walls of cloisters
or religious places. This was a single piece, a long train of all
orders of men, from the Pope to the lowest of human beings;
each figure has as his partner, Death; the first .shaking his

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 17

whereon this subject has been depicted, with
old English verses over the figures, may contri-
bute to shew how very common it has been in our
own country. P. C. Hilcher, in a tract printed
at Dresden in 1705, has taken notice of other
Dances of Death at Dresden, Annaberg, Leip-
zig, and Berne. Dr. Nugent has described one
in St. Mary's church at Lubeck, which he states
to have been painted in 14G3.

The origin of all these is perhaps to be sought
for in an ancient pageant, or religious farce, in-
vented by the clergy, for the purpose of at once
amusing and keeping the people in ignorance. In
this all ranks and conditions of life were perso-
nated and mixed together in a general dance, in
the course of which every one in his turn vanishes
from the scene, to shew that none were exempted
from the stroke of death. This dance was per-
formed in the churches, and can be traced back

rememberiug hour-glass. Our old poet Lydgate, who flou-
rished ill the year 1430, translated a poem on the subject,
from the French verses which attended a painting of the same
kind about St. Innocent's cloister, at Paris. The original verses
were made by Macaber, a German, in his own language. This
shews the antiquity of the subject, and the origin of the hint
from which Holbein composed his famous painting at Basil.

This cloister, the dance, and innumerable fine monuments
(for here were crowded by far the most superb) fell victims to the
sacrilege of the Protector Somerset, who demolished the whole,
and carried the materials to his palace then erecting in the
Strand. 7- Pew/w«t'« London, vol. ii. p. 135.
C

18 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

as far as the ^ear 1424*; it was called the Dance
of Macaber, from a German poet of that name,
who first composed some verses under the same
title. Of this person very little is known, but
Fabricius thinks the poem more ancient than the
paintingsf . His work has been translated into
Latin and French, in the last of which languages
there are some very ancient and very modern
editions.

The earliest allusion to the subject, but whe-
ther to the above-mentioned farce or to the paint-
ings seems uncertain, is in the following lines,
from the Visions of Pierce the Plowman, who
wrote about 1350.

Death came drivynge after, and all to dust pasbed,
Kynges and kaysers, l<nightes and popes
Learned and lewde, lie ne let no man stande
That he hitte even, he never stode after.
Many a lovely ladie, and lemmans of knights
Swonned and swelted, for sorrow of death dyntes.

When the arts of printing and engraving be-
came established, various copies of the Dance of
Macaber made their appearance, particularly in
the Hours, Breviaries, Missals, and other service
books of the church, few of which were unac-
companied with a Dance of Death ; and in these
the designs sometimes varied. Many of our own
iervice books for the use of Salisbury were thus

* Glossar, Carpentier, torn. ii. 1103.
\ Ribl.ined.& infim. i£tat.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 10

decorated, and the fashion at length terminated in
a book of Christian prayers, printed more than
once during- the reign of Elizabeth, since which
time nothing of the kind has appeared. In all
these are to be found the same dull and uniform
representation of Death leading a single figure,
without much attempt at character or execution,
until at length there appeared, in 1538, a book,
entitled '' Les simulachrcs & historiees faces de la
Mort, autant elegamment pourtraictes, que arti-
ficicllement imaginees." It was printed at Lyons
by Melchior and Gasper Trechsel, and is accom-
panied with forty-one of the most beautiful
groups of figures that can be well conceived,
both for their composition and execution, being
most delicately cut on wood, and surpassing in
this branch of art almost every thing of the kind
that has appeared before or since. This work
was often republished, as well in the French, as
in the Latin and Italian languages*, and has been

* The following is presumed to be a tolerably correct list of
the various editions of this book :

" Siinulachres & Historiees faces de la Mort, &c." Lugd,
1538, 4to.

" Imagines de Morte." Lugd. 1542, 12mo.

" Imagines Mortis." Lugd. 1545, 12mo.

" Imagines Mortis." Lugd. 1547, 12mo.

" Les Images de la Morte." Lyon, 1547, 12mo.

" Simolachri, Historic, e Figure de la Morte." Lyoue, 1549.
12rao. with aa address from the printer, in which he complains
of some attempts having been made in other countries to
imitate the cuts to his book, and informs the reader that he

20 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

usually denominated by most of the writers upon
the arts of painting and engraving, as well as by
many travellers, Hulhcin's Dance of Death. It
is extremely clear, however, that Holbein did not
fwre?2/ these subjects, for it appears in a dedication,
which is only to be found in the first edition of
this work, that the painter was then dead, and
that he had not lived to finish some of the de-
signs, which, however, afterwards appeared in a
subsequent edition. The painter must therefore
have died before 1538, and it is well known that
Holbein was at this time living, and continued so
until 1555, Unluckily no evidence whatever,
nor even tradition, has been preserved relating to
this great artist, and it is feared that he will ever
remain undiscovered.

had caused many more cuts to be added to this edition than
had appeared in any other; a declaration not a little extraor-
dinary, for both the editions of 1547, "hich were also pub-
lished by this person, have the same number of cuts, and con-
tain twelve more than the three first editions. These additional
cuts were probably executed from the unfinished designs spoken
of in the dedication to the first edition. Four of them, being
groups of children playing, are rather foreign to the subject, but
are evidently done by the same artist who executed the others.

" Icones Mortis." Basil, 1554, 12mo.

" Les Images de la Mort, auxquelles sont adjoustees dix sept,
figures." Lyon, 1562, 12mo, There are but five additional
figures to this edition, the other twelve being wliat had already
appeared, making in the whole seventeen more than in the first
edition. Of these five cuts, which have all the delicacy of the
others, three are groups of boys.

" De Doodt verniaskert," &c. Antwerp, 1654, 12mo.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 21

After wbat has been said, it becomes necessary
to attempt at least to give some reason for tlie
almost universal opinion^ that these designs were
the offspring of Holbein's pencil. Most of those
writers who have described the town of Basil, as
well as the compilers of the lives of the painters,
speak of a Dance of Death by Holbein, some re-
ferring to the old Dance of Macaber, and others
to the more modern one; but it is not difficult to
see, that they have but transcribed from each
other, without taking any pains to examine the
subject. Certain it is, however, that Holbein
did paint a Death's Dance in its improved state,
and likewise more than once. Bishop Burnet, in
his travels in Switzerland, speaks of a Dance of
Death, painted by Holbein, '' on the walls of a
house where he used to drink," which was then
so worn out, that very little was to be seen except
shapes and postures. He then mentions the old
Death's Dance at the Dominicans' convent*,
which, he says, was " so worn out some time ago,
'' that they ordered the best painter they had to
'' lay new colours on it ; but this is so ill done,
" that one had rather sec the dead shadows of
"^ Holbein's pencil, (/. e. on the walls of the
" house), than this coarse work."

This account is corroborated by Keysler, who
adds, that the painting on the house was then
CJitirely obliterated. Patin, in his travels, also

* By mistake called the convent of the Augustioians.

22 THE DA NCI:: OF DEATH.

speaks of a house at Basil, curiously painted by
Holbein, but does not mention the subject ; it
was probably the same as Burnet saw. These are
the only travellers >vho have spoken upon this
subject with any degree of accuracy, and fortu-
nately their testimony throws much light upon it.
To the book already mentioned to have been
published by the Trechsels, at Lyons, they some-
times annexed another, which was in some degree
connected with it, and appears to have been
printed by them the following year. This was
entitled, ^^ Historiarum veteris testamentiicones,"
the cuts of which are in some instances much in-
ferior to the others, and apparently by a different
artist. The designs of these are indisputably by
Holbein, as appears from some verses before the
book, composed by Nicolas Bourbon, a cotem-
porary poet, who also wrote some lines upon a
Dance of Death painted by Holbein*. To
these cuts to the Bible, are prefixed the first four
which occur in the Dance of Death, as they like-
wise belong to the subject, and represent the
creation and fall of man; but they are different in
size, and were added, not only from the analogy
of the subjects, but from the circumstance of
their being already in the hands of the printer ;
and thus, from an odd coincidence of things, as
well as a palpable confusion of the respective
verses of Bourbon, seems to have originated an

* Borbonii Nngarum libri octo. Basil 1540, 12mo. p. 445,

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 23

opinion, that Holbein invented the Dance of
Death.

But it has not only been asserted that Holbein
designed, but that he engraved, or rather cut
this Dance of Death on wood. That he practised
this art, nay, that he excelled in it, there is reason
to believe, from some specimens that have been
preserved, and which bear on them the unequi-
vocal marksof H. H. & HANS. HOLBEN*.
A set of cuts with the latter mark occurs in Arch-
bishop Cranmer's Catechism, printed by Walter
LyneinJ548; and although the composition of
these is extremely good, their execution is not
only inferior to the Dance of Death, but entirely
different in its manner: and the mark of lij which
is to be seen upon one of the cuts in this latter
work, has been ascribed without any authority to
Holbein, upon the strength of the vague opinions
concerning his interference with the Dance of
Deathf.

The great popularity and success of these cuts
very soon excited many imitations of them both
in copper and on blocks. In 1541, Aldegrever
engraved eight of them, but with very material
alterations. Other editions of the Imagines Mor-

* It is not however impossible that Holbein, in putting his
mark upon these cuts, might only intend to shew that he de-
signed them, or drew the subject upon the blocks.

+ This mark is also given by Professor Christ, in his Diction-
naire des Monograrames, to Hans Lautensack, and Hans Le-
derer, persons of whom absolutely nothing is known.

24 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

tis, which had been first published under that
title in 1545, appeared in 1555, 1566, 1573,
and probably at many other times ; these were
also accompanied witli cuts in wood by a very
eminent but unknown artist, whose mark is J^ •
This mark is also to be found in some of the
Emblems of Sambucus and Lejeune, in some ini-
nitial letters to Grafton's Chronicle, and in
other cuts executed during the sixteenth century*.
It is not a little remarkable, that so late as the
year 1654, there appeared a Dutch book, printed

* The inaccurate Papillon, who in matters of historical dis-
cussion is hardly ever to be trusted, lias asserted in his " Traits
de la gravureen bois," that this is the mark of vSilvius Antonianus,
or Antoniano, Having found it upon some cuts, in an edition of
Faerno's fables, printed at Antwerp in \56j, v.ith a detUcation
to Cardinal Borromeo, by Silvius Antoniano, he instantly con-
ceived that he had discovered tlie name of the artist in that of
the author of the dedication. The fact is, that Antoniano was
no engraver, but a professor of belles lettres at Rome, after-
wards secretary to Pope Pius V, and at length a Cardinal. His
dedication had aheady appeared in the first edition of these fables
in 1664, whicii has a different set of cuts engraved on copper.
Another of Papillon's blunders is equally curious. He had seen
an edition of the Emblems of Sambucus with cuts, on which the
same mark occurs. In this book is a fine portrait of the author,
with his dog, under whom is the word BOMliO, which Pa-
pillon gravely informs us is the name of the engraver, and again
refers to it on anotlier cut of one of the Emblems under a dog
also. Had he read the verses belonging to this particular
Emblem, he would have immediately seen that it was nothing
more than the dog's name, as Sambucus himself declares, w bilst
he pays a laudable tribute to the attachment of the faithful com.
panion of his travels.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 25

at Antwerp, where this artist worked^ entitled,
" Doodt vermaskert, or Death masked," accom-
panied with eighteen cuts of the Dance of Death,
which in the title page are ascribed to Holbein.
They are all, except three, impressions from the
identical blocks of Ihe beautiful and original cuts
of this subject; but the above-mentioned artist has
had the effrontery to put his mark, together with
the figure of a graving tool or knife, upon several
of them. It is, however, possible that he might
have repaired them, as some of the smaller lines,
which in former impressions seem to have been
injured, are here much stronger.

It might be tedious to describe all the imita-
tions of the Dance of Death which have appeared
at different times, as they are exceedingly nume-
rous; but it would be unpardonable not to notice
an alphabet of initial letters with this subject,
which for humour, and excellence of design, are
even superior to the celebrated one; and with re-
spect to execution, especially when their minute-
ness is considered, being less than an inch square,
absolutely wonderful. Their composition is en-
tirely different from that of any of the others, and
one of them is extremely indecent. They appear
to have been done at Basil ; for in the public
library there is preserved a sheet, whereon arc
printed three alphabets, viz. the one above-men-
tioned, another of boys at play, and the third, a
dance of peasants, &c. The designs of some of
the last are the same as those in a similar Dance

26 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

by Holbein^ formerly painted on a house at Basil,
and of which some drawings are still preserved ;
and it is therefore not improbable that he also
designed the Dance of Death for these initials.
They have apparently been struck oft' as proofs or
patterns for some bookseller*^ and at the bottom
of the sheet is the mark EL with the words "Hans
Liitzelburger Formschneider, (/. e. block-cut-
ter), in Basel." In this manner has been pre-
served the name of a most exquisite artist, whom,
from the similarity of style and subject, there is
every reason to suppose the person who executed
the fine cuts of the first Dance of Death. As he
worked after the designs of Holbein, it is also
probable that the painter might have invented
some of the seventeen subjects which appeared in
continuation of the original work, and that Liit-
zelburger also cut them for the subsequent edi-
tions. From the extreme delicacy with which the
initials with the Dance of Death are executed,
there is reason to suppose that they were not
cut upon blocks of w ood, but of metal, as was
probably the larger work of the same subject ;
and in support of this conjecture it may be ob-
served, that blocks of this kind are still preserved
in the cabinets of the curious.

* They were actually used by Cratander, a printer at Basil;
and other initial letters, with Dances of Death, are to be seen
in books printed at Zurich, Strasburg, and Vienna, in the six-
teenth century. All the alphabets are in the possession of the
compiler of thb essay, but they have not the monogram.

TBE DANCE OF DEATH. 27

In 1780, Chretien de Mechcl, a well-known
artist and printseller at Basils published forty-
five engravings of a Death's Dance, as part of the
works of Holbein, of which he intends to give
a scries. IMr. Coxe, in his travels, has given
some account of this work, and informs us that
they are done after some small drawings by Hol-
bein, sketched with a pen, and slightly shaded
with Indian ink ; that these drawings were pur-
chased by Mr. Flcichman, of Strasburg, at Cro-
zat's sale at Paris, and are now in the collection
of Prince Gallitzin, Minister from the Empress
of Russia to the court of Vienna, at which last
place he had frequent opportunities of seeing and
admiring them. He further adds, that Hollar
copied these drawings, an opinion which will
admit of some doubt. Mons. De Mechel's re-
mark, that from the dresses and character of
several of the figures, it is probable the drawings
were sketched in England, as well as Mr. Coxe's
conjecture that they were in the Arundelian col-
lection, will appear but slightly founded to any
one conversant in the dresses of the French and
German nations at that period, to which they
bear at least an equal resemblance: again, one of
the cuts represents a King sitting at table under
a canopy, powdered with Fleurs de lis, whose
figure has a remarkable affinity to the portraits
of Francis I. If these drawings were copied
from the celebrated woodca cuts, they must have

28 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

bceu done after the year 1547;, as eiglit of llieiii
did not appear till that time.

But it has entirely escaped the knowledge of
all the biographers of Holbein, that he painted a
Dance of Death in fresco, upon the walls of the
palace of Whitehall, which was consumed by
fire in 1G97. This curious fact is ascertained
from two sets of nineteen \ery indifferent etchings
from the wood^jn cuts, by one Nieuhoff; they
were never published, but copies of them pre-
sented to the artist's friends, with manuscript de-
dications in the Dutch language, in which he
speaks of the above-mentioned paintings at While-
hall. The book has the following title engraved
in a border : " Imagines Mortis, or the Dead
Dance of Hans Holbeyn, Painter of King Henry
the Vlllth." The author, in one of these de-
dications, addressed to the Right Honourable
William Benting, informs him, that " he had
met with the scarce little work of H. Holbeyn in
wood, which he had himself painted as large as
life in fresco, on the walls of Whitehall ; that he
had followed the original as nearly as possible,
and had presumed to lay his copy before him as
being born in the same palace ; that he consi-
dered the partiality which every one has for the
place of his nativity, and that therefore an ac-
count of what was curious and remarkable therein,
and of what was then no more, as being destroyed
by a fatal fire, must of course prove acceptable,
particularly as there were hardly any more re-

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 29

mains of the palace Jeft than liis own dwelling."
He then states, that the design of the painter re-
sembled that of the founder of the Greek mo-
narchy, who ordered these words to be written,
to remind him of his mortality : " Remember,
Philip, that thou art a man!" and proceeds to
describe in a very quaint manner the different sub-
jects of his work. The dedication to the other
copy is nearly in similar wordsj^and addressed to
Mvnheer HeymanSi who appears, in consideration
of his singular merits, to ha\e had a dwelling as-
signed him ill the palace at Whitehall. From
the hand-w riting and Dutch names in this work,
it is evidently of the time of William III, but of
the artist no memorial is preserved ; however, the
importance of the fact which he has recorded,
will render him a valuable personage in the opi-
nion of the lovers of the arts.

After what has been said then, it is to be hoped
that no additional evidence will be requisite to
shew that Holbein did not invent the subjects, nor
execute the cuts belonging to the Dance of Death,
which is usually ascribed to him; that he painted
it, however, and most assuredly more than once,
seems to be beyond the possibility of doubt.

It only remains to give some account of the
prints which are the immediate object of this pub-
lication, and to which it is hoped the preceding
introduction will not have appeared uninteresting.
It has been commonly supposed that Hollar copied
these prints from the original cuts ; but Mr,

30 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

Coxe* thinks be followed the drawings engraved
by De Mecbel, which he imagines to have been
in the Arundelian collection. Both these opi-
nions seem erroneous ; for many of Hollar's prints
are materially different, as well from the cuts as
the drawings ; and are, with two or three excep-
tions, very close copies of the cuts already men-
tioned to have been first published in J 555, with
the mark ofj^ f . He must therefore have either
had before him both the sets of wooden cuts, or
have copied the paintings at Whitehall ; for his
acknowledged fidelity would have hardly suffered
him to depart from his originals, whatever they
were, and as they now remain, they are not cor-
rect copies of any single existing model.

Hollar's prints were first published in 1651J,
with borders designed by Abraham a Diepenbeke,
and afterwards without the borders. In this latter
impression the letters e/B. i. occur upon everyprint,
and are intended for " Holbein invenit," as ap-

* Travels in Swisserland.

f It is not a little reiuarkable, that almost tlie same variations
from the original cuts, are to be found in those of the edition of
1555, in De Mechel's prints, and in Hollar's etchings; a cir-
cumstance which renders it probable that these last were all co-
pied from the same originals, which might have been the work
of Holbein, to whom the variations may be likewise attributed.

J In |6S2 there appeared engraved copies of the Dance of
Death, in a work entitled " Theatrum mortis humanae," by
J. Weichard. These engravings are within borders of fruit,
flowers, and animals, which are executed with an uncommon
<legrec of elegance.

THE DANCE OP DEATH. 31

pears from some other of Hollar's prints, which
hare upon them these Nvords at length. No pane-
gyric is here wanting upon the works of this ad-
mirable artist ; thev are sufficiently known and
esteemed by every collector of taste^ and particu-
larly his Dance of Death. The plates, which ap-
pear to have been but little uscd^ have been till
lately preserved in a noble family, and impressions
from them are once more presented to the public,
without the least alteration*.

Vertue, in his description of Hollar's works,
mentions that he engraved a reverse of the first
print, an additional one without a border, repre-
sentingtherich man disregarding the prayers of the
poor; and three others from the set after Holbein,
with four Latin verses at bottom. He also en-
graved the six first letters of the alphabet,
adorned with small figures of a Death's Dance,
and one large plate of the same subject for Dug-
dale's St. Paul's, and the Monasticon ; but this
last plate is only a copy from an old wooden cut
prefixed to Lydgate's Dance of Macaber, at the
end of his Fall of Princes, printed by Tottell in
1554, and was not intended to represent the Dance
of Death at St. Paul's, as Mr. Warton has sup-
posedf , but only as an emblematical frontispiece
to the verses.

• In the present edition, however, it was found requisite that
the plates should be retouched, and it has been done with the
utmost attention to the preservation of their original spirit and
character.

f Observ. on Spencer, vol. ii, 11 7-

Kajia««iE iTom&stMA. 5r IK ^TEinrei Not;

EtnifU eixtuXoxaiTxixs- Derw dr pxiMii,

'^'..•Jnuf vita lriia!_ dnvfr reiira-tu-i.*;, ^ 'r

lLfi>otw. dptimi iiM) , ■moriens eniin tn., ic

GiAcI_enl&s in 1

Ii-wcco.' i-nduetixr tnosfore. Et quiefc
70 -T . .

- - -v - - ■

- >-

r

BjMt^^E- ~%^i

■fch'^^^MTiS li^l

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m^

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. .lecvpu-tiii'. rr-vct t- s-

L<iucuui in.tdtjr niortuoJ qudJn viuente^

■Sedctitcs in teticbriJ Sc iti Vrabi-i
.*lorit« Vii ctcvj in inen<licilale 7^ ^"^

F.ttvia jmr ViJftl»ir lionnrua mlb nouiLvi
ma aiLf<;xu ciuf c'^rjicunt lifumiip r..| intii-l-"

^'■■lf^%

\ .r qiu ctocttu m.iJinn l>c/tiittu <Ss tionTini iivtliutl>^
poucii tcj teB.pbf.u'r iucciu ^V i,iu-i"ia tmebnu poneti.
b>? aia.UTira. tn duicc V filler uiJ^n-vncm. ^/ti -^

-M-oxliie ciwd^te ipiita

rTTTrr-TT

5\,° ,v ir Tola Moi-y Lep^t\xbi±

^^ucuni xnhoxas cUey flto*. & in.
"rJtmchj actini^ma, cie£cciiaixt. J./

itti congvegst thfifaarro* Ixia^ixa, roe-
taint . xAxmfZ excor.* efi . 5» itxtpxiajjet-.'.

onine.> <]ui l.il or.ifu-i

' tttaio.' & qit* pariffi. cttiits etmtdb.

Coxnat m cii.rnxJ\to

jcicli laoHxinij £i\'ni-LnprCu«n.JPta.v
l-ucretur, auiaaiat aittetji Itn-nf trftnetv

20

eplctur nmlhj taiTeryj qvn. qujin. f loif

DESCRIPTIONS

CUTS

flollar's Bance of ®eat|).

THE DANCE OF DEATH.

PLATE I.~THE FRONTISPIECE.

It has been supposed by Papillon^ without
the least authority, or even probability, that the
two figures represent the persons for whom Hol-
bein painted this work. It has been already
shewn that Holbein did not design this plate. It
is altogether emblematical, and appears to be an
heraldical representation of mortality, viz. a tat-
tered shield, surmounted with a death's head; the
crest, an hour-glass between two arms of a skele-
ton, holding part of a skull. The two figures
are probably intended for supporters, and repre-
sent the dress of the Swiss Nobility of the six-
teenth century. The '' MORTALIVM NO-
BILITAS" was added by Hollar, and is a very
concise and admirable explanation of the subject.

d2

36 THE DANCE OF DEATIF.

PLATE II.— 8IN.

Bc.cause ibou hast barkened unto the voice of tliy wi(e, and liast eaten
of the free, of wliich I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not
eat of it : cursed is the groimd for tliv sake, &c.

Gen. iii. 17,

Holbein has begun the scenes of life by that
which had such influence on all the rest. The
iVFolher of the human race holds in her right hand^
the fatal apple, which she has just received from
the serpent with a young man's head ; and Adam,
at the same time, is plucking another, enticed by
the solicitations of the too credulous Eve, who
shews him the one she has received.

PLANCHE II.— LE PECHE.

Holbein a commence ces scenes de la vie
par celit^ qui eut tant d'influence sur toutes les
autres. La Mere du genre humain, tient dans
sa rajiin droite, la pomme fa tale qu'elle vient de
recevoir du serpent a tete de jeune homrae, &
Adam en cucille en memc tems une autre, excit6
par les solliritations de la trop crcdule Eve, qui
lui montre celie qu'elle a re^ue.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 37

PLATE m.— PUNISHMENT.

Theretore the Lord God sent iiim forth from the garden of Eden, to till
the iiround from whence he was taken. Gkn. iii. 23.

Our first Parents, driven eut by the Angel,
are flying from the terrestrial Paradise^ preceded
by Deaths who is playing on the fiddle, and shews
by dancing, the joy he feels for his triumph.

PLANCHE in.— LA PUNITION.

Nos premiers Parens chasses par I'Ange,
s'enfuyent du Paradis terrestre precedes de la
Mort, qui joue de la guitare^ & demontre en
dansant la joie qu'elle ressent de son triomphe.

38 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

PLATE IV.— CONDEMNATION TO LABOUR.

Cursed is ilie earth for thy sake; in sorrow slialt thou eat of it all the
days of thy life. Gen. iii. 17.

HoLBEiNj to mark at once the species of
labour which is the lot of man, and that which
falls to the share of the woman, represents Adam
employed in rooting up a tree, along with Death,
who helps him with all his might; and at a little
distance Eve suckling her child, and holding a
distaff.

PLANCHE IV.— LA CONDEMNATION AU
TRAVAIL.

Holbein, pour marquer en meme terns le
genre de travail qui est lepartage de I'homme, &
celui qui est le partage de la ferame, represente
Adam occupe a dcraciner un arbre, avec la Mort
qui I'aide detoutes ses forces; & un pcu plus loin.
Eve allaitant son enfant & tenant une quenouille.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 99

PLATE v.— THE POPE CROWNING AN
EMPEROR.

To bind his Princes at liis pleasure, aod teach his Senators wisdom.

Psalm cv, 22.

A CARDINAL and three bishops are assisting
at the ceremony' : Death is there also under the
figure of two skeletons^ one of which is dressed in
cardinal's robes, the other embraces the Holy
Father, with the right hand, and is leaning on a
crutch with the left.

PLANCHE v.— LE PAPE COURONNANT UN
EMPEREUR.

Un cardinal & trois eveques assistant a cette
ceremonie : la Mort s'y trouve aussi sous la
figure de deux squelettes, dont I'un est revetu
des habits de cardinal ; I'autre embrasse le St.
Pere de la main droite, et s'appuie de la gauche
sur une bequille.

40 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

PLATE VI.— THE EMPEROR.

Set thine house in order: for tliou shalt die, and not live.

Is.viAii, xxxviii. 1.

Seated on a throne, and holding in his hand
the sword of state, he is attentively listening to
an advocate pleading in a soothing tone, agaiifst
an unfortunate peasant, who trembling waits, in
the most suppliant posture, the decree that is to
determine his fate. Death at this moment displays
all his power ; he proudly takes possession of the
bottom of the throne, and is carelessly leaning his
arm on the Monarch's crown. The angry aspect
with which the Emperor views the advocate and
his two clients, who are seen standing with their
heads uncovered, is a happy presage for the poor
oppressed peasant.

PLANCHE VI.— L'EMPEREUR.

Assis sur son trone, & tenant dans sa main
le glaive de I'empire, il ecoute attentivement un
avocat qui plaide d'un ton doucereux contre un
raalheureux paysan, tandis que celui-el attend en
tremblant, & dans la posture la plus suppliante,
I'arret qui doit decider de son sort. La Mort
developpe en ce moment toute sa puissance; elle
occupe fierement la fond du trone, & appuie non-
chalemment son bras sur la couronne du Monarque.
L'air irrite avec lequel le Chef de I'Empire re-
garde I'avocat & ses deux cliens qu'on voit, la tete
decouverte, a cOte de leur defenseur, est d'un
lieureux presage pour Ic pauvre opprirae.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 41

PLATE VII.— THE EMPRESS.

Ami all the inhnbitants of tlie Earth are reputt'd as notliuig : and he
doeth according to liis will in the army of Heaven, and among the
inhabitants of the Earth. Daniel, iv. 35.

In the midst of a pompous march, in the
court of a great palace. Deaths who seems here to
do the office of gentleman-usher, leads this Princess
to the brink of a grave, and shews her the bounds
within which all her grandeur is to be confined.

PLANCHE Vn.— LTMPERATRICE.

Au milieu d'une marche pompeuse, dans la
cour d'un vaste palais, la Mort qui paroit faire ici
I'office d'ecuyer, amene cette Princesse jusqu'au
bord d'une fosse sepulcrale, pour lui faire voir le
terrae auquel ses grandeurs viendront aboutir.

42 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

PLATE VIIl.— THE QUEEN.

Rise up, ye women that are at ease ; bear my voice, ye careless daugh-
ters; give ear unto ray speech. Daniel, xxxii. 9.

Death, arrayed ia the habits of folly, drags
away violently this young Princess, just as she is
conaing out of her palace to enjoy the pleasure of
walking. AVith terror painted in her counte-
nance, she is making the air resound with mourn-
ful cries ; the maid of honour, who accompanies
her, agitated with the most violent despair, is
imploring the aid of Heaven, while the buffoon is
making vain efforts to defend her against Death,
w ho holds aloft his glass, to shew that the fatal
hour is come.

PLANCHE VIIL— LA REINE.

La Mort rev^tue des habits de la folic, cn-
traine avec violence cette jeune Princesse, au
moment qu'elle sort de son palais pour jouir du
plaisir de la promenade ; la terreur peinte sur
le visage elle fait retentir les airs de ses cris dou-
loureux ; la dame d'honneur qui I'accompagne,
agitee da plus violent desespoir, implore Ic secours
du Ciel, tandis que le bouffon de la Reine fait de
vains efforts pour la defendre contre la Mort, qui
tient son sable eleve pour faire voir que I'heure
fatale est arrivee.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 43

PLATE IX.— THE CARDINAL.

Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness
of the righteous from him. Isaiah, v. 23.

A MESSENGER has just presented to him, on
his kneesj the bull that constitutes him a cardinal.
Death seizes this moment to make his appearance,
and seems to want to turn his hat upon his head.
The messenger is holding in his right hand a tin
box, hung by a strap, in which he had, no doubt,
carried the bull, which the new-made cardinal
holds in his right hand with the seals appended to
it.

PLANCHE IX.— LE CARDINAL.

Un messager vicnt de lui remcttre, en faisant
une genuflexion, la bulle qui le fait cardinal. La
Mort saisit ce moment pour paroitre, et semble
vouloir lui faire tourner son chapeau sur la tete.
Le messager tient de la main droite une boite de
fer-blanc, pendue a une courroie, et dans laquelle
il avoitsans doule appoite la bulle, que le cardi-
nal nouvellement cree tient a la main droite avec
les sceaux y affixes.

44 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

PLATE X.— THE ELECTOR.

The King shall mourn, and the Prince shall be clothed with desolation,
and the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled.

EzEKir.L, vii.27.

This prince, as he is coming out of hi'^ palace
with his courtiers, is accosted by a poor woman,
who implores his help for herself and the infant
she holds by the hand ; but he, insensible to the
distresses of the widow and orphan, refuses to
listen, and is turning aside with a disdainful air
to his courtiers. Death at this instant appears ;
and his severe aspect announces, that he is just
about to make him repent his hard-heartedness.

PLANCHE X.— L'ELECTEUR.

Ce prince sortant de sonpalais avec ses cour-
tisans, est abord^ par une pauvre femme qui im-
plore son secours, pour elle & pour I'enfant qu'elle
tient par la main ; mais insensible aux besoins de
la veuve & de I'orphelin, il refuse de I'ecouter, &
se tourne d*un air d^daigneux du cote de ses cour-
tisans. La Mort paroit dans cet instant, & son
air severe annonce qu'elle va le faire repentir dc
la durete.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 4S

PLATE XI.— THE BISHOP.

will smite the shepherd, nnd the sheep of the flock shall be scattered
abroad. Matt. xxvi. 51.

With an air of tranquillity and resignation^
this worthy Pastor follows Death, who is leading
him away laughing and dancing, whilst some shep-
herds, forgetting their flocks, are wandering here
and there through the country, in despair for the
loss of their chief. The sun, now ready to set,
is just about to leave in darkness the ill-fated
flocks, who, having no longer a conductor, will
soon become the prey of wolves and other raven-
ous animals.

PLANCHE XL— L'EVEQUE.

D'uN air de tranquillite & de resignation ce
bon Pasteur suit la Mort, qui I'emmenc en riant
et en dansant, tandis que quelques bergers, ou-
bliant leur troupeau, errent 9a & la dans la cani-
pagne, dese.speres de la perte de leur chef. Le
soieil pret a se coucher, va laisser dans les tene-
bres ce malheureux troupeau, qui n'ayant plus de
conducteur, sera bientot la proie du loup & des
autres betes feroces.

46 THE DANCE OF DEATH,

PL.\TE XH.— THE COUNT.

Rebuke the company of spearmen ; scatter thou the people that de-
light in war. Psalm Ixviii. 30.

Death here adds to his usual employment
that of avenger of oppressed vassals. He is throv^-
ing with violence at the head of this Lord, his coat
of arms^ the dear object of his pride^ under the
weight of which he is ready to make him fall.
He appears trampling under foot a flaiU to mark
his inhumanity to labourers, a class of society so
necessary and respectable. On the ground also
are to be seen the remains of the helmet which
formed the crest of his arms, with the other orna-
ments that decorated them.

PLANCHE XII.— LE COMTE.
La Mort ajoute ici a I'exercice de son emploi
accoutume celui de vengeur de vassaux opprimes;
elle jette avec violence a la tete de ce Seigneur
ses armoiries, I'objet cheri de son orgueil, sous le
poids desquelles elle va le faire perir. On le voit
fouler a ses pieds un fleau, pour designer son in-
humanite envers les laboureurs, cette classe de
la societe si necessaire & si respectable; on pent
encore remarquer a terre, les debris du casque
dont ses armoiries etoient surraontees avec d'au-
Ires ornemens qui les decoroient.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 47

PLATE XIII.— THE ABBE.

His own iuiquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden
by tlie cords of his sins. Prov. iv. 22.

Death, not contented with stripping this fat
Prelate of his crosier, which he is carrying in tri-
umph on his shoulder, and his mitre, with which
be is dressing himself, is dragging him away
without pity. He raises his hreviarywith one
hand, and with the other is making some Tain
efforts to push him off.

PLANCHE XIII.— L' ABBE.

La Mort, non contente d'avoir arrache a ce
gros Prelatsa crosse, qu'elleporte en triomphe sur
son epaulcj & sa mitre, dont elle s'est affublee,
le tire encore impitoyablement apres elle; il €leve
d*une main son br^viaire, & fait de I'autre de
vains efforts pour la repousser.

iS THE DANCE OF DEATH.

PLATE XIV.— THE ABBESS.

Wherefore I praised tlic dead, which are already dead, more than tlit

living, wliich are yci alive. Eccleb. iv. 2.

Death ludicrously hooded with several flow-
ing plumeS;, and robed in a kind of gown, carries
out of her convent an Abbess^ whom he is dragging
with all his might by her scapulary. The re-
verend Mother with regret is leaving life and the
honours she enjoys ; and expresses, by the alte-
ration of her features and by her cries, the fright
that Death has produced in her soul. Behind
her, under the gate of the convent, appears a
young Nun, strangely agitated with terror and
grief.

PLANCHE XIV.— L'ABBESSE.

La Mort ridiculement coiflfee de diverses
plumes flottantes, & vetue d'une espece deraante,
emmene hors de son couvent une Abbesse qu'elle
tire de toutes ses forces par son scapulaire. La rev^-
rendissime Mere quitte a regret la vie & les hon-
neurs dont elle jouit, & exprime par Paltdration
de ses traits & par ses cris, Teffroi que la Mort a
jete dans son ame. On voit derriere elle, sous la
porte de I'abbaye, une jeune Nonne, vivement
agitee par la crainte & par la douleur.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. ^49

PLATE XV.— THE FRIAR PROVISOR.

And lie saved tliem from the Iiand of him that liated them, and redeemed
them from the hand of the enemy. Psalm cvi. 10.

As lie is just stepping into his convent, with
his Christmas-box and wallet. Death stops him
at the door ; and deaf to his cries, as well as re-
gardless of the fright he throws him into, drags
him with all his might by the cloak, and renders
all the good Friar's attempts to disengage himself
ineffectual.

PL-\NCHE XV.— LE FRERE QUETEUR.

Pret a rentrerdans son couvent avec sa tire-
lire & sa besace, la Mort I'arrete a la porte, &
toute ausai sourde a ses cris, qu'insensible a I'ef-
froi qu'elle lui cause, elle le tire de toutes ses
forces parson capuchon, & rend impuissans les
efforts du bon Frerc pour se derober de ses mains.

50 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

PLATE XVI.— THE CANONESS.

Enter not into the path of llie wicked, and go not into the way of e»il
men. Pkov. iv. 14.

There appears in this young and beautiful
reclusCj a striking mixture of gallantry and de-
votion. On her knees before a little altar, witli
her rosary in her hand, she is amorously listening
to the songs which a young man, seated on a bed,
addresses to her, accompanying thcui with his
lute. Death comes to put out the tapers burning
on the altar, and to change into sadness the plea-
sures of this conversation.

PLANCHE XVI.— LA CHANOINESSE.

L'ON voit dans cette jeune & belle recluse un
melange frappant de galanterie & de devotion.
Agenouillee devant un petit autcl, sou rosaire a
la main, ellc ecoute amoureusement les chanson?
qu'un jeune homme, assis sur son lit, lui addresse
en les accompagnant de son luth. La Mort vient
€teindre les cierges allumes sur I'autel, & changer
en amertume les douceurs de ce t^te-a-tete.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 61

PLATE XVII.— THE PREACHER.

Woe unto tliem tliat call evil good, and good evil ; that put darkness
for light, and light for darkness j that put bitter for sweet, and
sweet for bitter ! Isaiah, v. 20.

As he is preaching to his congregation.
Death, who is behind him with a stole about his
neck, holds over his head the bone of a dead body,
and by shewing it to the assembly, preaches to
thera, undoubtedly, the most eloquent of all ser-
mons.

PLANCHE XVII.— LE PREDICATEUR.

Tandis qu'il preche son auditoire, la Mort
qui est derriere lui, une etole au cou, eleve par-
dessus sa tete un os de mort, & en la montrant a
I'assemblce lui fait sans doute le plus eloquent de
tons les sermons.

Eg

LIBRARY
UWIVBRSJTY OF llil

53 THE DANCE OF DEATIL

PLATE XVIII.— THE PHYSICIAN.

Pliysician, lieal thyself. LuKr, iv. '25.

Death is leading to him a sick old maiij
whose urine he is presenting to Iiini in a phial, and
appears saying, in a jeering raai.ner. Dost thou
think that thou art able to save a man whom I
have already in my power ?

PLANCHE XVIII.— LE MEDECIN.

La Mort lui amene un vieillard raaladc dont
elle lui presente I'urinc dans une phiole^ & paroit
lui dire d'un air moqueur; Crois-tu pouvoir
sauver un liomme que je tieus deja en ma puis-
sance ?

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 53

PLATE XIX.— THE SWISS SOLDIER.

But when a stronger than lie sluill come upon liim, and overcome him,
he taketh from him ail his armour wherein he trusted, and di-
videth the spoils. Luke, xi. 22,

On a field of battle, covered with dead car-
casses. Deaths armed v.ith a buckler and a huge
dart, attacks this warrior, in the bosom of victory,
escaped alone from the carnage of the day, and is
giving him some terrible blows. It is in vain
that this brave Soldier, whose courage seems in-
vincible, is obstinately attcm}3ting to dispute the
victory with an irresistible adversary. In the back
ground appears another Death, running, and beat-
ing on a drum, w ho is followed by several soldiers.

PLANCHE XIX.— LE SOLD AT SUISSE.

SuR un champ de bataillejonchc decadavres^
la Mort armee d'un bouclier & d'un grand jave-
lot, attaque dans le sein de lavictoire ce guerrier
echappe seul au carnage, & lui porte des coups
terribles. C'est en vain que ce brave Soldat dont
la valeur sembloit indoraptable, s'acharne a dis-
puter la victoire a un adversaire auquel rien ne
sauroit r^sister. Dans le lointain on apper9oit
une autre Mort qui bat du tambour en courant,
& qui est suivie de quelques soldals.

54 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

PLATE XX.— THE ADVOCAT*.

A prudent man foreseetL the c\-il, and hideth liimself; but the simple
pass, on, and are punished. Puov. xxii. o.

The example of the Judge seems to autho-
rize the Advocate to get himself well paid for his
prevarication, and that even in the presence of
his poor client;, whose wretched condition would
raise compassion in any breast less obdurate than
that of the lawyer. But Death will avenge the
oppressed; he is pouring into the hands of the
Advocate money in abundance, of which he will
have little use, for he is, at the same instant,
shewing him, with an air of insult, his sand run
out.

PLANCHE XX.— L'AVOCAT.

L'lcxEMPLE du Jugesemble autoriser I'Avo-
cat a se faire payer cherement ses prevarications,
& cela meme en presence de son pauvre client qui
se tient dans un certain eloignement, & dont I'ctat
miserable fcroit pitie a une arae moins dure que
celle de I'homme de loi. Mais la Mort vengera
I'opprim^; elle verse abondammentdans les mains
de I'Avocat de I'argent dont il ne profitera guere,
car elle lui montre en meme temsd'uu air moqucur,
son sable ecoule.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 65

PLATE XXI.—THE NEW-MARRIED PAIR.

Where thou diest, will I die, Ruth, i, 17.

In the first transports of an happy union, this
tender couple appear so wholly taken up with
each other, and so inebriated with their mutual
happiness, that they neither see nor hear. Death,
who is marching: before them, beating furiously
on a little drum, is soon to give a cruel interrup-
tion to their enjoyments.

PLANCHE XXI.—LES NOUVEAUX MARIES.

Dans les premiers transports d'une douce
union, ces deux tendres epoux paroissent telle-
raent occupes I'un de I'autre, ils sont si enivres de
leur bonheur mutuel, qu'ils ne voient ni n'enten-
dent la Mort qui marche devant eux, en frappant
vigoureuseraent sur un petit tambour, & qui va
leur donner bientot un cruel trouble-fete.

56 THE DANCJ: OF DEATH.

PLiVTE XXII.— THE COUNTESS.

^Vhat! shall we receive good at thu hand of God, and shall we not
receive evil ? Job, ii. 10.

She is wholly taken up with the care of her
dress, and is receiving with eagerness, from the
hands of one of her maids, a very rich robe with a
gold chain. Death comes to derange her toilet,
and lius already, without being perceived, slipped
round her neck a collar made of small bones.

PLANCHE XXIL— LA COMTESSE.

Elle n'est occupee que du soin de sa parure,
& re9oit avec empressement, des mains d'une de
ses femmes, un habillement trcs-riche avec une
chaine d'or. La Mort vient troubler sa toilette,
& lui adeja passe autour du cou, sans qu'elles'en
soit encore aper9ue, un collier fait de petits os de
mort.

THE DANCE OF DE AT[I. 67

PLATE XXII l— THE MERCHANT.

Tlie getting of treasures by a lying tongue is :i vanity tossed to and fro
of them that secketh death. Prov. xxi. 6.

Escaped from the dangers of the sea, and
safely arrived in port, this rich Merchant be-
lieves himself now in perfect safety; but he is
mistaken. Employed in counting his money, ex-
amining hi? goods, and treating about their dis-
posal, a bad customer. Death himself, comes up,
and it is his person only that he wants to bargain
for.

PLANCHE XXIIL— LE MARCHAND.

EcHAPPE aux perils de la mer, arrivd heu-
reuseraent au port, ce riche Marchand se croit en
pleine securite ; il se trompe. Occupe a compter
son argent, a examiner ses marchandises & a
traiter de leur vente, un mauvais chaland, la
Mort elle-merae, arrive, & ce n'est que de sa
personne qu'elle veut faire emplette.

58 THE DANCE OF DEATH.

PLATE XXIV.— THE HAWKER.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Matt, xi, 28.

Bending under the weight of his load, he is
advancing, with a quick pace, to the neighbour-
ing town, comforting hirai-elf with thinking on
the gain he is to make there; but Death, in the
form of two skeletons, is come to put a sudden end
to his labours and his hopes. One of the skeletons
is dragging him forcibly hy the arm, while the
other behind him is plajing on a marine trumpet.
It is in vain that the poor Hawker points with
his finger to the place where his business calls
him; this disagreeable company appear desirous
of making him take another road.

PLANCHE XXIV.— LE COLPORTEUR.

CouiiBE sous le poids de sa charge, il avance
a grands pas vers le lieu voisin, & trouve du sou-
lagenicnt en revant au gain qu'il pourroit y faire ;
mais la Mort, sous la figure de deux squelettes,
est venue subitement mettre fin a ses peines & a ses
esperances. L' un des squelettes le tire avec force
par le bras, tandis que Tautre joue derriere lui de
la trompette marine. C'est en vain que le pauvre
Colporteur montre des doigts I'endroit ou ses
afifaires I'appellent, cette facheuse compagnie
paroit vouloir lui faire prendre une autre route.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 59

PLATE XXV.— THE MISER.

Tliou fool, tliis night sliall thy soul be required of thee ; then whose
shall tliobe things be, which thou hast provided?

Luke, xi. 2.

The character of the Miser is very forcibly
expressed in this sketch. Shut up in a vaults
which receives the light only through a wicket,
secured with a double grate of thick iron bars,
he is entirely taken up with his beloved treasure,
a considerable part whereof Death is snatching up
before his eyes. This loss excites in him all the
symptoms of the most violent desperation, and it
plainly appears that his gold is an hundred times
dearer to his heart than his life.

PLANCHE XXV.— L'AVARE.

Le caractere de I'Avare est rendu dans ce
dessein avec beaucoup d'energie. Renferme dans
un caveau qui ne rc^oit du jour que par une lu-
carne garnie d'une double grille d'epais barreaux
de fer, il n'est occupe que de son cher tresor, dont
la Mort lui enleve a ses yeux une portion tres-con-
siderable. Cette perte excite en lui tons les symp-
tomes du plus violent desespoir, & Ton voit bien
que son or lui tient cent fois plus a coeur que la
vie.

<)0 THE DANCE OF DEATFI.

PLATE XXVI.— THE WAGGONER.

But wlien they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel,
and sought him, he wub found of them.

2 Chuon. XV. 4.

We see Death here venting his capricious
fury on a cart of wine that a poor Waggoner is
conducting. Without doubt, the man himself
Nvill soon come, in his turn, to be the sport of his
caprice ; and the same cause that has now pro-
d need J will ere long effectually finish his despair.

PLANCHE XXVI.— LE VOITURIER.

On voit ici la Mort cxercer ses bizarres fu-
reurs sur un char de Tin que conduit un pauvre
Voiturier. Sans doute que lui-raeme va devenir
a son tour le jouet de ses caprices, & que la meme
cause qui vient d'occasionner son desespoir ne tar-
dera pas a le terminer.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. Gl

PLATE XXVH.— THE GAMESTERS.

For what is u man protittd, if lie shall gain the whole world, and lose
his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his souli*

Matt. xvi. 26.

The Devil and Death are disputing which
of them shall cany off the losing* Gamester. It
is a contest^ if we may say so, frightful as well
as ludicrouSj so much the more so^ that the se-
cond Gamester, interesting himself in the fate of
the first, is addressing fervent prayers to the
Devil on his behalf; but the third is doing still
better, taking tlie advantage of this moment of
trouble and terror, to gather in the money that is
lying on the table.

PLANCHE XXVII.— LES JOUEURS.

Le Diable & la Mort se disputent qui des
deux emportera le Joueur qui a perdu. C'est un
combat, s'il est permis de le dire, aussi efFroyable
que comique, d'autant plus que le second Joueur,
s'interessant au sort du premier, addresse de fer-
ventes prieres au Diable en sa faveur ; mais le
troisierae fait encore mieux, & profite de ce mo-
ment de trouble &d'efFroi, pour ramasser I'ar-
gent qui se trouve sur la table.

y

ee THE DANCE OF DEATH.

PLATE XXVni.— THE OLD MAN.

My breath is corrupt, ray days are extinct, the graves are ready tor nie.

Job, xvii. 1.

Here we see Death leading away, playing on
a psaltery, an Old Man to the brink of the graven
bent under the load of ycars^ and verging to the
last degree of frailty. The Old Man allows him-
self to be carried off, with that calmness and tran-
quillity, which are the effects of wisdom, and the
fruits of a good conscience.

PLANCHE XXVHL— LE VIEILLARD.

L'oN voit ici la Mort qui conduit sur le bord
de sa fosse, en jouant du psalterion, un Vieillard
courbe sous le poids des annees, & parvenu au
dernier degr6 de Ja caducite, Le Vieillard se laisse
emmener avec cc calme & cette tranquillite qui
sont I'apanage de la sagesse, & les fruits d'une
bonne conscience.

THE DANCE OF DEATH. 63

PLATE XXIX.— THE OLD WOJSLVN.

Dentil is better than a bitter life, or continual sickness.

ECCLES. XXX. 17.

The grim countenance of this good old Dame
docs not indicate the same resignation as appears
in the former subject. Wholly occupied in
mumbling her rosary, she pays no attention to
the sound of a dulcimer, on which one of her
conductors is playing. The other skeleton, im-
patient of the slowness of the Old Woman's march,
is employing menaces and blows to make her ad-
vance.

PLANCHE XXIX.— LA VIEILLE.

Le visage rechigne de cette bonne Vieille
n'annonce pas la meme resignation que dans le
sujet precedent. Toute occupee a marmotterson
rosaire, elle ne prete aucune attention au son du
timpanon dont joue I'une de ses conductrices.
L'autre squelette, impatient de la lenteur que la
bonne \ ieille met dans sa marche, emploie les me-
naces & les coups pour la faire avancer.

64 THE DANCE OF DE/VTII.

PLATE XXX.— THE CHILD.

Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He
Cometh forth hke a flower, and is cut down : he fleetli also as a
shadow, and continueth not. Job, xiv. 1.

If under the roof of poverty tliere is any com-
fort, it is in having children, by whom we may
hope one day to be solaced. This is the case with
this poor widow ; but Death is of a different opi-
nion, and is come to carry off her youngest Child,
unmoved by her prayers and lamentations.

PLANCHE XXX.— L'ENFANT.

Si sous le toit de la pauvrete il y a quelque
consolation, c'est d'avoir des enfans dont on peut
esperer d'etre un jour soulage. C'est le cas de
cette pauvre veuve, mais la Mort n'est point de
cet avisj & vient de lui enlever le plus petit sans
se laisser flechir, ni par ses prieres ni par ses la-
mentations.

END OF THE DANCE OF DEATH.

THE

Battce of Mu^tt,

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THE

DANCE OF MACABER.

John LYDGATE, a monk of the Benedic-
tine Abbey of Bury in Suffolk, jflourished in the
reign of Henry VI. He was an uncommon orna-
ment of his profession, his genius being so lively,
and his accomplishments so numerous, that it is
hardly probable the holy father St. Benedict
would have acknowledged him for a genuine dis-
cij)le. After a short education at Oxford, he
travelled into France and Italy, and returned a
complete master of the language and the litera-
ture of both countries. He chiefly studied the
Italian and French poets, particularly Dante,
Boccaccio, and Alain Chartier ; and became so
distinguished a proficient in polite learning, that
he opened a school in his monastery for teaching
the sons of the nobility the arts of versification,
and the elegancies of composition. Yet although
philology was his object, he was not unfamiliar
with the fashionable philosophy ; he was not only
a poet and a rhetorician, but a geometrician, an
astronomer, a theologist, and a disputant. He
made considerable addition to those amplifications
p2

68 THE DANCE OF MACABER.

of our language, in which Chaucer, Gower, and
Occlcve led the way, and is the first of our
writers whose style is clothed with that perspi-
cuity in which the English phraseology appears
at this day to an English reader. His muse was
of universal access, and he was not only the poet
of his monastery, but of the world in general. If
a disguising was intended by the Company of
Goldsmiths, a mask before his Majesty at Eltham,
a Maygame for the Sheriffs and Aldermen of Lon^-
don, a mumming before the Lord Mayor, a pro-
cession of pageants from the creation, for the fes-
tival of Corpus Christi, or a carrol for the coro-
nation, Lydgate was consulted, and gave the
poetry.

Mr. Warton, from whose elegant History of
English Poetry the above account of Lydgate is
extracted, further informs us, that he translated
Macabcr's Dance of Death from the French, at
the request of the Chapter of St. Paul's, to be
inscribed under the painting of that subject in
their cloister ; but it appears from the verses
themselves, that he undertook the translation at
the instance of a French clerk. Lydgate's poem
is neither a literal or complete translation of
the French version from Macaber* : and this he
himself confesses,

" Out of the French I dioiigli it of intent

" Not word by word, but following in substance."

* This French translation has been erroneously given to Mi-
chael Marot, who was not born at the time when it was first

THE DANCE OF MACABER. 69

Again, the number of the characters in Ljd-
gate is much less than in the French, being only
thirtv-five, whilst the other contains seventy-six,
and he has not only omitted several, but supplied
their places with others; so that if these lines
were inscribed under the painting at Saint Paul's,
it must have differed materially from that at
Saint Innocent's at Paris. Stowe, upon whose
sole authority all the information concerning this
painting depends, says, that on the north side of
Saint Paul's church was a great cloister, environ-
ing a plot of ground, of old time called Pardon
Churclj-yard, whereof Thomas More, Dean of
Saint Paul's, was either the first builder, or a
great benefactor, and was buried there. About
this cloister was artificially and richly painted the
Dance of Machabray, a Dance of Death com-
monly called the Dance of Paul's ; the like
whereof was painted about St. Innocent's cloister
at Paris. The metres or poetry of this Dance
were translated out of the French into English,
by John Lydgate, Monk of Bury. He adds,
that this was done at the expence of Jenken Car-
penter*, in the reign of Henry the Vlth, so that
the poem and the painting appear to have been
fmisbed about the same time.

printed. See De Biire Bibliog. Instruct. No. 3109, and War-
ton's Correct, and Add. to Vol. II. of Hist, of Engl. Poetry.

* This Jenken Carpenter was town-clerk of London, 1430,
and executor of Richard Whittingtoa. Weever's Funeral Monum
p. 379. fo. edition.

70 THE DANCE OF MACABER.

Ill tlie year 1549, on the tenth of April, the
whole of this cloister, together with the Dance
of Death, the tombs, and monuments, was begun
to be pnlled down by command of the Duke of
Somerset, so that nothing thereof was left but the
bare plot of ground, which was afterwards con-
verted into a garden for the petty Canons *.

All the ancient Dances of Death, though evi-
dently to be deduced from one original, differed
very materially in the number and design of the
characters. They uniformly appear to have been
accompanied with Macaber's verses, or more pro-
bably with imitations of them.

• Stowe's Survey.

FINIS.

London: Printed by li.M'MilUn,?
How Svrect, Corent Garden. >

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